In our last blog, I talked about adopting our cat Atlantis without any medical history. I constantly monitored his health. It didn’t take me too long to suspect either hyperthyroidism or kidney disease or both. As a cat gets older the chances for acquiring kidney disease increases. Here are the symptoms of kidney disease to look out for:

• Reduced appetite
• Increased thirst
• Frequent or no urination
• Bloody or cloudy urine
• Vomiting
• Poor coat appearance
• Lethargy and depression
• Weight loss
• Bad breath
• Sore mouth or mouth ulcers
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Increased sleeping

At first the symptoms I noticed were weight loss, diarrhea and some lethargy.  Like an overprotective parent, my concern grew each day. I was fearing that we were experiencing “deja vu” as our cat Molly experienced the same symptoms. Then as they say “all hell broke loose.” Stay tuned for the next step in this frightening journey!

Remember, your pets count!